Busy at Bartington Wharf, one of the Black Prince hire bases.
With another Bank Holiday coming up I guess it’ll be quieter here after the weekend, but Saturday could be hectic!
Shortly after the wharf the canal dives into the green tunnel above the Weaver.
The different greens in the sunlight really look beautiful.
We’d been warned by a boater going the other way about a tree partially blocking the canal near Bridge 204.
He was telling me that there were a few boats held up after coming out of Saltersford Tunnel, so out came the chainsaws for a bit of DIY canal clearing. Probably not what BW’s Safety Elves want to see…
We arrived at Saltersford nicely in the middle of the “passage window”, then crossed the basin to Barnton Tunnel.
Why do they always build tunnels at a skew to the channel?
Barnton Tunnel north portal.
You have to swing wide to the right to be able to see through this one, and even then it’s difficult. There’s no control over traffic on this tunnel, so you have to check whether anything is coming. I’d got in about a boat and a half’s length before I realised I could see a bit of boat cabin silhouetted in the light at the far end. I stopped and started to reverse, because, although I couldn’t see a headlight, it may have been obscured by one the kinks in the bore. Then I saw the boat pass out into the sunlight 570 yards away, so he was moving away and not towards us. I followed him through quite quickly in case there was anyone waiting to come the other way.
We pulled in just past Barnton Bridge, it’s a bit noisy with traffic here till later, but it’s handy for the shops.
Remember the “U-Boat” based on a narrowboat hull knocking around on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal? Well, far from being a white elephant, it appears to be earning it’s keep….
Locks 0, miles 5
No comments:
Post a Comment